Aftermath
by Emily Rose Pond
Summary: This is a fanfic about what happens just a few hours after the Ponds die. It is when Doctor and River go to explain all to Brian, Rory's father.
1. Aftermath

She could tell he was angry. She was never allowed to fly the Tardis, but she knew today it had to be done. They couldn't stay in New York forever; the memories would drive him to madness, though she knew he wasn't already there. He walked shakily in as she began to prepare the Tardis for flight. "We need to go to Leadworth, River. I need closure and I'm sure that Brian would like to know what happened to his son." He stammered as he gathered himself together.

"Are you sure this is a good idea. I know it needs to be done, Doctor, but not today it has only been a few hours since they died. You're still in shock for goodness sake. Just leave it for today perhaps tomorrow." She replied in a calming yet sure kind of way.

"No it has to be today. It's not fair on you grandfather. River you are a magnificent woman but still you must be slightly upset; your parents are gone." He said slowly beginning to gather himself together.

"Doctor it doesn't really matter now all that matters is that you are ok, I know this is tough for you, I haven't seen you feel like this about someone since Rose Tyler. But if you insist we will go, however if you're going to tell him about this you better explain who… who I am to him." Her voice became unmistakably less stable as she spoke because she knew she had hit a closed box of memories when she had mentioned Rose. His knees started to shake as if they were about to collapse as he staggered toward the steps his body weighed down with sadness. "I'm sorry. I forgot what I was saying. I know it's hard for you. You have the weight of so many things on your conscience yet it is nothing compared to mine. I know what I am destined to do and it is what I was brought up to believe." Her voice was almost a whisper as she finished her sentence. After about a minute of silence she gathered herself together and said "Leadwort, watch out! The physcopaths are coming to town!" Her hand quivered slightly as she pulled the leaver to start the Tardis.

Within the space of a few minutes they had arrived outside of the house of Amy and Rory. The Doctor stepped out of the Tardis but then began to withdraw backwards slightly as if the all of the sudden memories had started flooding back to him. Memories in the last few hours he had tucked away in the corner of his mind never to be remembered again. She grasped his hand firmly let reassuringly in hers like a mother preparing her child for the first day of school. "You must do this, Doctor. For Brian. For me. He's my grandfather yet he never knew that I exist. I want my life to feel normal for once. I don't want to be on the run from my destiny constantly, Doctor. Please For me." Her voice wavered up and down as she spoke like she was just coming to terms with it herself.

"Okay," he agreed. "I'll do it but only if you explain to him what has happened. I just need to listen. For it to sink into me." He slowly began to step toward the front door. As his hand reached for the knocker he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder and he realised why he wanted to do this. Not for River, not for Brian and not even for closure. But for little Amelia Pond sat in her garden. He knew what he meant to her and he realised by doing this he was giving her the best gift ever. The truth.

Peering in the window the Doctor could see Brian making his way toward the door. He envied Brian so badly for the innocence of it all being able to walk around without the universe's problems on your shoulders. As Brian opened the door the Doctor looked up at him only to see Brian's face looking puzzled. "Where are they? Where are Amy and Rory? DOCTOR WHERE'S MY SON‽"

"Brian, that's what we're here to talk about." replied the Doctor trying desperately to keep his cool.

"You can't just waltz in here expecting me to be fine with this. NOW WHERE'S MY SON‽ AND WHO ON EARTH ARE YOU‽" questioned Brian clearly not trying to suppress his anger. He gestured to River with great anger.

"Professor River Song, sir. Now please can we come inside so we can explain about your son." said River clearly not struggling at all in the pressured situation.

"Well I suppose but I want to know where my son is!" Brian sighed clearly trying to not throw them out on the street for Rory's sake. The three of them continued inside and Brian gestured for them to sit down. As River and the Doctor took a seat on the sofa opposite Brian he asked again "Where is my son‽"

"Brian please let use explain from the beginning. You have to know the whole truth." The Doctor tried to reason with him.

"Fine you have 10 minutes. OR ELSE I KICK YOU OUT!" Brian said his patience clearly fading.

"Earlier you asked who I was and I told you I was Professor River Song. Correct?" River began. Brian nodded clearly confused by the situation. "Well that is partly true however my true name is Melody. Melody Pond." By now Brian had lost track of the conversation completely.

"But you can't be. Rory and Amy they, they couldn't have children. It almost drove them apart. This isn't possible. This is some kind of trick. Doctor tell me WHERE IS MY SON‽" Brian tried to reason with himself.

"Brian you must let Melody explain." River shot the Doctor a stern look as he finished his sentence. "I'm sorry I must let River explain." He corrected himself clearly aware of what he had said to annoy her.

"Yes I am their daughter but they couldn't have children not after me. When I was due to be born Amy was kidnapped by a race called the Silence who were going to turn me into a monster, a physcopath because of my abilities. You see I was conceived on the Tardis giving me time lord DNA. I was a weapon. A weapon of war against the Doctor. I was trained to kill him. It was what I was brought up to believe. However because I have the Pond spirit I obviously had to go against what I was taught and thus fell in love with the Doctor, the man I was trained to kill." River began to explain in as simple terms she could manage for such a complicated story with so many twists. Brian was clearly struggling to come to terms with all of the shocking information he was being given.

"I don't believe you," Brian exclaimed. "I don't think you are who you say you are."

"You must trust me Brian," She still didn't feel it was appropriate to bring in family names, "I am who I say I am and I can tell you how. I grew up with Amy and Rory. I was Mels you have seen before just not in this regeneration." She said clearly trying to help their case.

"That cannot be true. Mels had different hair, eyes and skin. Even your skin isn't the same! How can I trust you?" Brian stammered.

"You can trust me like I said I am Mels I am the same person but in a previous regeneration. Mels it's short for Melody. Amy believed she had named her daughter after her best friend but in fact her best friend had being her daughter the whole time. Anyway, you want to know what happened to my parents don't you." She continued slowly gathering more confidence as she saw Brian believing her more and more.

"Yes. Yes, I do." He seemed more calm now more patient.

"They're dead." River moved slowly over towards her grandfather. He had only known her for a few hours yet now she was all he had in the world. She was Amy and Rory to him. "It has only been a few hours but you needed to know. Rory died from been caught by a race of aliens called the weeping angels. They took him back in time and he died of old age. Amy died from the same thing however she died out of love, love for your son. They were both sent back to the same time period and lived out the remainder of their days together. They were very happy." River gestured to the Doctor to hand Brian the last page. His hands were shaking as he accepted the paper from the Doctor. After about a minute he turned to face River.

"Hello Melody." Tears rolled down his face as he embraced his grandaughter into a hug. They quietly began to cry, River who had eventually lost her calmness quietly asked the Doctor to come join them.

"Brian there is one last thing you must know. I married the Doctor." She tried to speak as clearly as she could through her tears but she knew she wasn't doing very well. As the Doctor turned to River to comfort her no-one could mistake the loom on Brian's face. Pride. Proud of a grandaughter he had never known he had, but he knew he was proud. She was trained for one purpose, for violence and war, yet she had defied that and chosen her own path in life. She had married the one man she was supposed to kill. That was one of the most difficult things to do.

Through the rest of the night they laughed and cried telling stories about their memories of Amy and Rory. River had the most of course having been with them from the age of 5 obviously. As the sun went down River and the Doctor made the way back into the Tardis. "Come with us Brian." the Doctor said invitingly.

"No thanks. They may be gone but someone still needs to water the plants." Brian replied.

"Doctor, can I just speak to Brian for a minute." River asked clearly with something on her mind.

"Of course it's going to take a while to start her up anyway after you've been controlling her!" the Doctor replied clearly frustrated with what River had done.

As she wandered of back toward the house something struck River. She knew why her grandfather didn't want to come. He wanted to stay to get to grips with life without her parents. She knocked on the door quietly then let herself in. She saw her grandfather sat at the kitchen table with a mug of tea looking through photo albums half laughing half crying. She put one arm around his should and said. "He was grateful you know. You will never know how much you meant to him. Just because he complained about you doesn't mean he didn't love you. You know that better than anyone you just haven't worked it out yet."

"Melody, you're a nice girl and the Doctor is one lucky man, but you keep safe I can't have you leaving me too. I wish I had known that Amy and Rory had a daughter. I always wanted a grandchild." He said trying to understand himself better.

"You know me better than most people do Brian; I am a complete mystery to most. The person that saves them but they never see again." She spoke softly to him as if she was singing a lullaby.

"Now just you listen to me you may be grown up but I will still want to see you. I'll be lonely with no-one to talk to while you're off on your adventures exploring the galaxy. Little old Leadworth, one of the nicest places on the planet but it's just too dull for me." He said with obvious envy of what River was off to explore.

River just smiled and nodded as she walked off down the garden path towards the Tardis. As she stepped inside she could not help but feel a twinge of guilt. She had lied to Brian for she knew that she was going to die. She was going to die for the Doctor.


	2. River Admits

**It was hitting her now. Lying to Brian wasn't helping her feel any better at all, it just made her feel worse. All that had just happened she was eventually coming to terms with. She couldn't cry. She mustn't cry. Not yet anyway. Not while he was still here. She just had to stay strong and hope her face didn't give her away. She hadn't known them that well yet all she seemed to want to do was curl up in a ball and cry. "River, are you all right?" He spoke kindly like he meant every word that he was saying and she knew he was. She knew how she wanted to reply but she couldn't for his sake instead all she said was "Yes, it doesn't really matter now all that matters is that you're all right." Her words sounded sure yet they held no meaning whatsoever. Her hands made sudden movements as she pulled yet another lever down on the TARDIS console and she was sure her eyes were close to welling up with tears. "Doctor, do you mind if I go to our room for a minute? You know I need to write this down and your rules are against you looking." She was looking for a quick excuse out of this situation. She needed time alone to cry. "Of course, River." She knew that he could tell this was just a diversion but she stopped pulling levers all the same and headed of into the labyrinth that was the TARDIS.**

As she tore down the endless corridors all she could think about were the past few hours. She may not have grown up her parents in the normal way but they were as dear to her as they would be to any other child and they had just died right in front of her. When she finally reached the door she pulled it aside so hard that she hurt her wrist again. The regeneration energy was still at work and it had not yet completely healed. Her wrist was just another scar that the day would leave on her forever never to be forgotten. As she sat down at the grand, Victorian dressing table in the corner of the room to write in her diary it suddenly occurred to her. This was her diary, her book, not just for adventures but for her to write things she thought were important. That night she wrote like she had never written before bringing each and every word she wrote to life with all the meaning she could find and all the time she cried for every memory provoked something new for her to write and something new for her to remember. It had been 3 hours since she had last spoken to the Doctor. He quietly pulled open the door and the sudden creak caused her to suddenly awake from her world of thoughts. "River it's being three hours. Are you sure you're all right…" He spoke gently and with love. As she looked up from her diary he could see her eyes bloodshot and puffy from each and every teardrop that she had cried. "No, no I aren't…" 


	3. Breaking the Boundaries

"River come with me, please." He asked her kindly.  
"No, please just leave me. Please Doctor." Her tired eyes begged him to leave her but he couldn't bear to. He had been too selfish in the past few hours; he had forgotten that no matter how much he missed Amy and Rory he couldn't even imagine the pain that River was going through. She had lost her parents as a baby and just as she had finally reunited with them they had left her stranded in the world again. "River, please, you must listen to me." He could see his words were having no effect whatsoever on River, yet he didn't give up. "You can't get through this on your own. They loved you River, you know they did." He walked over to the dressing table, took her hand and then sat her down on the bed beside him.  
"There's nothing you can do Doctor. They're gone and no-one can change that." She said taking care with each and every word to make him understand. "And anyway, they didn't want me they wanted Melody."  
"But River they did want you, just because they didn't show it much it didn't mean that they didn't love you." It felt strange trying to comfort her because usually it was the other way round.  
"They wanted their child, Melody Pond, not some psychopath raised to kill their best friend. They didn't love me the way other parents love their children." She spoke like she had just been given a chance at free speech for the first time in her life.  
"That's not true; maybe they didn't love you like normal parents love their children because you aren't a normal family. Your timelines were crossing in separate directions; you were there on the day on your own birth. How many other people in the universe can say that? No-one just you. You are one of a kind River and so were your parents."  
"LISTEN TO ME, DOCTOR! I DON'T WANT YOU TO FIX MY FAMILY PROBLEMS; I WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND ME FOR ONCE!" She started to shout but then she realised that just because she was angry at her parents it didn't mean that she could take it out on her husband. "I'm sorry, I overreacted. I just want you to listen to me for once. Please Doctor, listen."  
"I'm all yours River." He spoke finally resigning to the fact of that he wasn't going to change her mind about her parents.  
"No matter what you say, Doctor, I will always know that they would've preferred baby Melody to me. I saw the look on Amy's face when she realised Melody was gone, but she would never have the same emotions if I was kidnapped."  
"River you are the same person, you are Melody Pond." He argued feebly.  
"Am I though. Am I still that same child that was told off at Demon's Run for calling Amy 'Big Milk Thing'. Think Doctor, I aren't. My innocence has gone, I have committed a murder for goodness sakes. I have seen things that no life form should ever have to watch."  
He realised he had lost the argument, there and then he agreed with what she was saying. She wasn't the same person, she had changed and she was as far away as she could get from that innocent young child personality wise as a cat was from a dog.

"Earlier you said something about us. You said something about hiding the damage." He decided if he was ever going to find out what she had meant now was as good a time as any.  
"Well a weak woman is never useful to a situation." Her words were as good as nonsense to him because he knew that they weren't the truth.  
"You didn't mean that. You said that I was an ageless god." He was trying to remind her although he knew she could remember perfectly well what he was talking about.  
"What did I mean then Doctor? After all you always seem to know what I'm thinking. Hmmm, seems you don't know me as well as you think you do." She answered her anger slowly rising.  
"River, please don't get angry with me. I want to make it all right again, please." His pleading face made her change her mind. "Come with me back to the console, we'll sort this out. We can plan our next great adventure, we'll even visit your parents grave if that's what you want."  
"I'll come to the console with you, but you know you can never make it all right. My life is so full of death and destruction nothing will ever change that, no matter how hard you try." She rose steadily from the bed as she spoke and began to walk smoothly towards the door. All the Doctor did was smile, he was half way there.


End file.
